Cape swirling about him as he stood in full sorcerer's regalia, Vladimir faced the ragtag team of teens (and one ancient ghost) that stood before him. The body of the Sultan lay sickeningly across the floor behind the impressive figure, and even more grotesque creatures sat in the shadows. He smiled as Desiree squirmed helplessly in the containment of a scepter, and gestured to one of the hulking figures behind him. Danerik stepped forward to defend his group, but suddenly his attention was drawn to the formerly unconscious Sultan. Twitching spastically, the body rose clumsily and turned to stand beside Vladimir, its eyes staring forward blankly.

"Does it suit, Skulker?" Vladimir asked without turning away from his prey.

"It-it does not, my lord." With a cracking noise that forced Sam to look away, the slender body of the former Sultan Masoniar twisted and rioted as it was forced to grow to huge proportions, the face reverting from that of a worried ruler into one contorted by fierce rage, the eyes finally gaining sight and color as they focused on the trapped Desiree.

"Ah. My lady, high royalty of the Ghost Zone, Desiree. How nice to meet again."

Vladimir sighed impatiently/ "Now does it suit you, ghost?"

"Yes, most gracious master. May I-"

"No. I need all of them alive."

"What have you done?" Sam finally broke the muted silence that had held her friends in its thrall as she stared at her father. "My…my father, you monster, Vlad, what have you-"

"Silence, brat!" He turned to lock eyes with her, his fierce, power-hungry eyes boring into her and shocking her into silence. "The Sultan is still here, if you must know. Is he a nuisance, Skulker?"

"Not at all, Vladimir. What a delightful, weak little mind he has! How it tickles!"

"That's my father you're talking about, spirit!" Sam was near to tears as she glanced at her father's body with its unearthly occupant.

"You couldn't have cared less about him when he was around. The defiant little Samantha, you were, always facing off against your father." Vlad snarled. "You think I didn't notice? I was there, Samantha, there when your mother died, there when your suitors arrived, there for every fight and every little argument you had with him. You didn't care! He sat there, the weakling, and poured out his every resource to help you, to show you he loved you, and you spat in his face." He stared down at the crumpled girl with disgust.

"Skulker, deal with the two lovebirds. The other two will come later." Avoiding the gargantuan body of Skulker, he focused again on Desiree and smiled, watching as she attempted to remain as still as possible, in order to avoid setting off more ghostly voltage. Danerik found himself entrapped in Skulker's huge arms as the larger ghost eagerly engaged the teen in a otherworldly battle. Three lesser ghosts sprung eagerly from the shadows at the beckoning of their master and wrestled the other three mortals to the ground, muffling their cries in a gag of ectoplasm.

Carefully avoiding the scepter he had thrown earlier, Vladimir approached Desiree to stare her straight in the eyes. Inches away from her face, he smiled as he began to explain. "You are now my servant. You are my ghost. You are MINE, and you will do as I say. If you cooperate, you will be well rewarded, as Skulker has been. Deal?"

In response, she spat in his face, causing him to rear back in disgust. He glared at her contemptuously, then growled and pulled another scepter from the folds of his cloak. Desiree couldn't suppress a gasp as she saw the artifact, and even Skulker paused in his fighting to marvel at the power emanating from the staff. Nearly solid gold, with a ruby set at the tip and several more framed as a grip, the body of the staff only served as a base to support the true object of power: a glowing, crackling red crystal ball, set into the top of the staff and powering it with ethereal energy. Desiree tried to avoid its hypnotic light, causing Vladimir to smile.

"You know what this is. Good. Soon, you won't even know who you are, much less that you tried to fight me. Look, ghost. Look!"

With force of will driving the power of the staff, Vladimir was able to control it to the extent that beams of light shot from it and ripped into Desiree's form. As opposed to many other artifacts, her body relaxed and sagged, her eyes drooping before opening to reveal red irises.

"W-what…." Desiree mumbled. Vladimir leaned forward, the suspense straining him.

"What…do you wish?"

Vlad frowned and furrowed his brow in concentration.

"No, Desiree, try again."

"What…do you wish…my master?"

"Much better. Desiree, granter of wishes and fulfiller of dreams, my first wish: I wish to be Sultan of this city and all its dominions!"

"As you have wished it…so shall it be!" Light enveloped the pair, blinding Skulker and allowing Danerik to slip away from his pursuer. When the light faded, Desiree sagged in her restraint and Vladimir was clothed in the robes of the Sultan, complete with the jewel set into his turban. He smiled triumphantly and turned to his new subjects, not noticing that Desiree's eyes had faded back to green.

Skulker frowned as Danerik continued to evade his grasp, turning to look at his master. "Ma-Sultan! The boy-thing evades me!"

"I don't care, Skulker! I don't care!" Gleefully, Vladimir looked at his servant with a strange gleam in his eye and laughed maniacally, all reason lost in his culmination of power. "I'm Sultan! Slave!" he called to one of the lesser spirits. "Bring me…the Princess. Princess Samantha."

A muffled protest erupted from her gag as the gelatinous being dragged her to the new Sultan and deposited her in a tangle of limbs. Unwinding its gag from her mouth, it floated up and awaited any orders from its master.

"You…you….let Danny go! Let him go!"

"Why, Samantha, he has disobeyed a Sultan, contradicted my orders, attempted to overthrow my reign! I cannot in all good conscience allow him to live." He explained quietly.

"Let him go, let him live, please-"

"Or what?"

She was silent, glaring up at him resentfully.

"No words for dear Daddy? No pleas for his life or position? Keep in mind, you are no longer a princess. You are no longer royalty. Unless, of course…"

"What?"

"You become my wife."

"Are you-"

"I hold complete power over you now, Princess! In my opinion, marriage to me is your only option! With all pretenses at status gone, your value to this community is negligible!"

"I will never marry you!"

"Don't be so sure, Princess. Events may transpire which may change your mind." Turning again to Desiree, he forced her eyes open with the staff and issued another command. "Slave, my second wish: I wish to be the most powerful sorcerer on this earth, with dominion over material both human and ghost!"

"As you have wished it, so it shall…BE!" Again the light flashed around the two, distracting the two lesser spirits long enough to allow Tuck and Valerie to slip out of their grasp. Tuck headed for the shadows, then stopped when he realized Valerie wasn't following.

"Val? What are you doing?"

"I have to help Sam!"

"We can't! Vlad's gone certifiably insane by now, and with that power at his disposal, he could take our heads off! You're crazy to even go near him!"

"I have to try!" She stumbled through the receding light, arms outstretched. Tuck hesitated a moment, then dashed off deeper into the palace. Valerie found herself next to Desiree and laid a cautious hand on the ghost's weak arm.

"Desiree?" She whispered cautiously. "Desiree, are you okay?"

The ghost was lucid again, and she faced Valerie tiredly. "Valerie…you need to help Danerik, not me."

"How can you escape that…ball thing's power? How are you talking to me?"

"The wishing…it expends a great deal of my power. Enough to jolt me out of submission, apparently. It's one flaw with this sorcerer's artifact, but otherwise Vlad's covered all his bases. I can choose not to accept wishes, but with the staff controlling me, I have no choice."

"He's killing you, isn't he? All this power he's draining from you with these wishes-"

"And in the aftermath of my previous fight with Skulker, I was only running on half-power. I'm afraid-I may not last much longer."

"You can't talk like that, Desiree! I'll get you out of here, then we can tackle Danerik's problem."

"Vlad!" A powerful shout came from across the courtyard. "I challenge you to combat to determine the position of Sultan!"

"You, boy?" Vladimir stared incredulously at the battered teen as he stumbled across the cobblestones. "You would take the position of Sultan?"

"I would stand in place of Sultan Masoniar."

"Ah. Very well, boy, I accept your challenge. Prepare yourself!" With a wave, he dismissed the charging Skulker who was gearing up for another attack, then faced the halfa. Using gestures and signals, he manipulated the tapestries around Danerik and smothered him, but watched in horror as the fabric was burned away by ghostly flame. The ghost boy leapt in the air and raced towards Vlad, arms prepared for a ghostly beam. Each of his blasts simply bounced off an ethereal shield erected by the Sultan, and he hovered uncertainly. Vladimir smiled, then closed his eyes in concentration. Ghostly matter accumulated around his body, and by the time it was finished the form of a much large giant stood before the ghost boy.

"So, boy!" Vladimir declared with a resounding voice. "You hope to defeat me!"